Landing hard on his right foot with 13 minutes 55 seconds left in this Big 10 mismatch, Grant hobbled into the stands and sat forlornly on a concrete step. His ankle was swollen and throbbing afterward, but the injury appeared to be no worse than a sprain.

``I was lucky,`` said Grant, the Wolverines` floor leader, who got hurt while driving for an uncontested lay-up. ``I went up the wrong way, so I stopped in midair and didn`t come down with full force on the side of my foot. ``If I had just gone through with the shot, I probably would have broken my ankle.``

That would have broken Frieder`s heart, along with the hearts of the 13,609 fans watching Thursday`s only suspenseful moment. The triumph, never in doubt, put Michigan back into sole possession of the Big 10 lead with a 6-2 league mark and an 18-2 overall record.

For Northwestern (1-7, 7-11), it was another frustrating evening in a Big 10 campaign that`s turning into a replay of last season`s 2-16 log. Still, Falk reacted angrily to the notion that his Wildcats had been sacrificial lambs for Michigan.

Despite another strong effort by sophomore Shon Morris, who topped the Wildcats with 17 points, it was all over after Grant`s layup boosted the Michigan margin to 16-6 with 12:11 left in the opening half. The visitors never got closer than seven points.

``We`ve been struggling (two losses in their last three games), so I threatened the players tonight,`` Frieder said. ``Anybody who didn`t play hard was going to come out. Grant set the stage for our defense. It looks like he won`t be able to play Saturday against Wisconsin, so we can`t afford a letdown.

``We had to win tonight, and Saturday at home is a must game for us. Things are a lot tougher in the Big 10, where the teams play all 18 conference games after Jan. 1. We can`t fatten up on easy opponents, like they do in other leagues.``

But once Frieder`s horses reached full gallop Thursday, paced by the 19-point scoring of Antoine Joubert, it looked as if they were fattening up on an easy opponent. Muscular Butch Wade made Morris pay with a lump for every point and the Wolverines` full-court press forced 24 turnovers.

``The press worked because we have an edge in quickness over Northwestern,`` Frieder noted. ``I`m still concerned at the way Roy Tarpley fouled out so early (with 7:31 to play). Roy`s had five or six bad calls against him in the last few games, but we`ll have to look at film to see what he`s doing and work hard to correct it.``

Tarpley, who had only 4 rebounds and 10 points, well below his season averages, also was unhappy about the foul situation.

``I`m not supposed to talk about the referees, but they`re making me play more tentative,`` said the 6-foot-11-inch center, who fouled out of last Saturday`s loss to Michigan State with more than 11 minutes left. ``Seems like they`re looking to call fouls on me.

``If we had been playing a good team tonight, this game would have been a lot tighter. I`m just out there trying to play ball.``